When my oldest child was 2 we started doing "School Time" with our daycare friends. School Time was usually a picture book coupled with an activity I made up that correlated with the book. This was before blogging was popular, so I couldn't do a quick search to find dozens of activities to choose from! As the years have gone by, I still love doing School Time this way, and I now have a big collections of Science Activities That Go With Books and Crafts/Art Activities That Go With Books! I also have a lot of math and sensory activities, but I haven't gathered them up in one spot on the blog yet!
But, as the years have gone by, I've discovered that I prefer to group book-based activities into themes. Kids learn better when material is linked (click here to learn how preschoolers' brains work and how they learn), and you can teach themes that your kids are particularly interested in. I became a huge advocate for child-led learning. I started publishing hundreds of themed activities for preschoolers here as we worked on them. You can find these Preschool Themes here, as well as 52 Preschool Theme Ideas here. By this point I was starting to get lots of questions from people wanting to know how to set up a preschool homeschool curriculum...and many just wanting one that was pre-made.
I decided to publish a preschool homeschool curriculum. I organized it into weekly themes and based the activities on books. I called it HEEP for Hands-on Energetic Easy Preschool. It incorporates play-based, hands-on learning with books and themes. And, you can skip around to whatever themes your kids are interested in so it is still child-led learning. HEEP has now been used in homeschools, daycares, homeschool co-ops, and even as a supplement in larger preschools. You can learn more about HEEP here.
I still think that a child-led delight-based preschool curriculum is best for homeschoolers (and anyone else who can get away with it!), but I realize that it is not always possible. So, I am making this list of preschool homeschool curricula. There are TONS of curricula to choose from! I'm starting with some at the top that I have experience with (we've tried quite a few, lol!), but I'm going to include as many as possible after that.
I'm organizing this list into the following three categories:
1- Preschool Homeschool Curriculum I've personally seen and/or worked with
2- Free Homeschool Preschool Curriculum and
3- More Preschool Homeschool Curriculum Options! (Feel free to send me a note if you have a preschool homeschool curriculum you'd like me to add!)
I hope this helps your planning! You're always welcome to leave a comment or send me a note if you have any questions or comments!
Soooooo...here's the big list!
Preschool Homeschool Curriculum
Homeschool PreK Curriculum I've Worked With
1- HEEP: The Hands-on Energetic Easy Preschool Curriculum that I designed. Organized by themes, based on books, centered in fun, easy, playful learning!2- Leap Frog Academy: An online, subscription based preschool curriculum for ages 3-6. I love this program and am happy to recommend it! You can read my review here.
3- Mother Goose Time: A research-based early learning curriculum program that arrives in a subscription box with a monthly themed curriculum with optional toddler packets. They send you a monthly box with all the supplies and curriculum outlined that you need. This is also a wonderful program that I am happy to recommend! It has enough activity suggestions for a full-day preschool, so you may want to choose just a few activities each day to focus on. You can read my review here.
4- ABC Mouse.com: An online, subscription-based early learning academy for 2-8 year olds. I also think this is a great program, and am happy to recommend it.
5- God's Little Explorers: This is a 28-week preschool homeschool curriculum written by a former teacher-turned homeschooling mom. It is organized based on Bible stories, moving from Genesis through Revelation over the course of the school year. It is well organized, but has room for lots of flexibility. We used it for a co-op one year. There was a lot of material we skipped and some material we added, but it provided a very useful framework for our group. We purchased the co-op option (the price is very reasonable), but she also has a free version available on her website.
Free Homeschool PreK Curriculum
1- 20+ Preschool Themes: This is my online collection of preschool themes. You can build your homeschool preschool curriculum using them--most contain 1-2 weeks worth of activities.2- Reading the Alphabet: A FREE 31-week preschool reading curriculum from This Reading Mama. Also includes some numbers and patterns.
3- Zoomin Movin Alphabet: Free alphabet packs for each letter (or buy them all at once) from Royal Baloo.
4- Encompass: A 26-week homeschool preschool curriculum from Cornerstone Confessions. You can get each week free or buy them all at once.
5- Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool Preschool: This free curriculum has two preschool levels, as well as all other grade levels.
6- Letter of the Week: A free preschool curriculum from Brightly Beaming Resources. Has several preschool and elementary levels.
7- Themed Preschool: 22 themed lesson plans that each last a couple weeks. You can access each theme for free or buy them all (a years worth) bundled together. Themes are appropriate for preschool and kindergarten.
8- ABC Jesus Loves Me: Full year curricula for kids 1-6 years old available online with other options to purchase.
9- Joyful Heart Bible & Rhyme: A curriculum organized by Bible stories, unique because of the rhymes and songs it integrates. Available in weekly lesson posts.
10- Themed Packs for Pre-K and Kindergarten: 20+ themed paper-based activity packs from This Reading Mama. If your kiddo enjoys writing and cutting, this would be a great way to organize your curriculum!
More Preschool Homeschool Curriculum (to purchase)
1- Letter of the Week: A homeschool preschool curriculum organized by letters at Confessions of a Homeschooler.2- Learning Box Preschool: A monthly prescription curriculum box that arrives in the mail.
3- Apples to Zebras: a comprehensive preschool curriculum designed to be taught in 3 days/week by Annette Breedlove at In All You Do.
4- Phonics With Penmanship: a full-year preschool curriculum that prepares children to read from Year Round Homeschooling.
Have you used a preschool homeschool curriculum that I mentioned? Do you have a favorite? I'd love to hear from you! Send me an email or leave a comment! And if you have written a preschool curriculum that you would like me to include, send me a note about that too!
Happy Educating,
Carla
I may share at any of these parties!
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